Actress Harassed and Molested on Street in India As Witnesses Watch But Refuse to Help

September 21, 2017

Bengali actress Kanchana Moitra was allegedly harassed and molested by three drunk men on her way home from work in Kolkata, India.

The incident happened around midnight on Tuesday as she and her driver were going home from a shoot. Moitra, while speaking with The Telegraph India, recalled the horrifying event.

The 37-year-old actress and her unnamed driver heard a noise as they were driving down the road near Siriti crossing in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, India. It turns out that their Maruti Brezza car was hit with a stone.

“I asked my driver to enquire what it was… and both of us rolled down the windowpanes,” she said. “Two youths appeared and one of them accused the driver of almost mowing him down. They were drunk.”

A third man came and soon began to abuse them. After Moitra threatened the three men that they would call the police, the third harasser quickly reached and yanked off the car key from the open window of the driver’s seat.

Both Moitra and her driver were allegedly forced to slap each other 10 times, while she also performed a very strenuous exercise in the middle of the street. According to the police statement, the actress was also inappropriately touched by the drunk men during the ordeal, NDTV reported.

“I was returning from a shoot…. I’m otherwise a brave woman but I was scared after the car key was taken away. I got off the car with my driver and pleaded before them with folded hands. We requested them to forgive us if there was any mistake by my driver, but they assaulted my driver. One of them grabbed my shoulder and shoved me. They told me that I had to slap my driver 10 times and he had to slap me back 10 times. Then I was asked to do 40 squats. If they didn’t like my squats, I’d have to do 40 more,” the actress recalled.

Throughout the entire ordeal, pedestrians walking in the are did nothing to help.

Luckily a police patrol was spotted by Moitra 20 minutes into their ordeal. She quickly ran to the officers for help, but the men tried to defend themselves.

Two of the suspects, both in their mid-20s, were reportedly arrested by the authorities and the third one is still at large. They are now facing multiple charges of assault or use of criminal force with intent to outrage a woman’s modesty, causing hurt, criminal intimidation and wrongful restraint. They could face up to five years of jail time.

The horrifying incident could’ve been prevented from further escalating if pedestrians in the area ahd reported the incident to the police.

The actress said that many people were actually walking past them during the whole incident. What’s worse, nobody dared to approach or help them — or even at least call the cops from afar.

Featured Image via Facebook / Kanchana Moitra

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